


Shadows on the sun

by emthefireybird



Category: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (TV 2016)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hugs, M/M, Nightmares, Self depreciation, dirk needs support, dont worry youll like the end, goes from happy to sad to happy agian, todd is supportive
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-20
Updated: 2017-05-20
Packaged: 2018-11-03 00:28:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10955919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emthefireybird/pseuds/emthefireybird
Summary: Dirk has an interesting dream





	1. Chapter 1

Dirk opened his eyes and felt extremely tired. Light flowed down from the forest canopy above, bathing his skin in warmth. He couldn’t feel much of his body and was now wondering if he was simply dead. That didn't seem to be the case as when he tried to move, he was met with the pain that he had no doubt been holding at bay. He was sore from head to toes, feeling as if he’d run a marathon through a grove of broken glass. He sat up and looked around, eyes blinking as he adjusts to the light. There are no sounds of birds or wind in the forest, the only thing breaking its eerie silence is the rustle of leaves as Dirk struggles to his feet, leaning against a nearby tree to keep himself from falling. He tries to remember why he’s in the forest and finds he doesn’t know. This wasn’t odd, per say, but not knowing how, well, that was a problem. He looked down at himself and found he wasn't wearing his yellow jacket, but a pair of grey sweats. The forest immediately seemed more familiar. He’d been here when he first escaped Blackwing, he’d been here… Now he realizes why he had been running. Plucking up as much strength as he could, he begins to walk in the direction he hopes he didn’t come from. 

 

The sun was resting low in the horizon, dying the sky shades of orange and pink. The shadows grew longer, signaling the end of the day. Dirk continued walking, too scared to want to rest. The forest around him now seemed like more of a threat, dark spaces turning to demons and shadows to ghosts. Dirk trekked on, to terrified to stop. In the silent forest he heard a crunch of leaves that was not his own, and he stops dead in his tracks. The thing, whatever it was, makes a few more shuffling noises as he heard it go round to stand behind him. From the corner of his eye he saw dark mass behind him, quiet for its extreme size. He wanted to look, but he couldn’t. He was sure that the moment he moved the beast would pounce, crushing him. He steeled himself, shrewing his eyes shut as he felt the beast breath on his neck, making the hairs on his arms stand up strait. He held his breath, standing still enough to look like a wax figure(with that incident in the candle factory, he would know). He stood unmoving, eyes wide and chest aching, until his eyes were burning and his lungs screamed for air. Finally, he had to breath. He took in a long gulp of air and closed his eyes. When he opened them, he was surrounded by nothing but inky darkness. As he breathed the air felt like thick oil, leaking into his lungs and choking him. He 5yr to move, to cover his mouth, to run, but he could even feel the rest of his body. He was but a brain and a set of eyes, able to observe but not to do anything. The darkness shifted impossible into a person. The person was tall and serious looking, their features face around the edges. Despite the disfigured look, he knew who that man was. He had been the man that escorted him when he was first kidnapped by Blackwing. “You may never leave.” the thing that was not a man said, his voice just like the real persons. The black shifted aha to form a slightly smaller shape, his mother. 

 

“You're a very unusual boy. I don't know if I like it very much.” at the time his mother had said it in jest, but now it seemed gloomy and ominous, her face caught by.shadows and blurred lines. The darkness writhed. The next person to appear from the dark was his father.

 

“Set yourself straight, you're a disappointment to the family.” the black mass seemed agitated, it began to shake and transform more quickly.

 

“Stupid boy,” an angry old lady.

 

“Useless,” a scientist.

 

“Waste of space,” a fellow inmate.

 

“Silly child.”

 

“Disgusting.”

 

“Abnormal.”

 

“Tiresome.”

 

“Ugly.” The people came and went as fast as slides in an old movie reel. Dirk could feel tears stinging his face as each insult his him like a slab across the face. His tears burned as if they were fire, and he could not wipe them away. Finally, the shuttering images stopped, a someone emerged.

 

“Todd?” it was more a statement than a question, but his voice broke part way and made it sound as if it were. Todd looked as if he were the devil himself. Normally bright blue eyes shone a cruel black, his eyebrows drawn together as if angrily asking a question. His stance was wide and intimidating, making it seem as if he were a looming shadow. His hands were clutched in fists as he stared at dirk with hatred more intense than he had ever seen.

 

“You heard them, right?” his voice was casual in a sinister way, in a way that Todd's voice should never be. Dirk didn't answer, he felt the tears running down his chin and spattered against his chest. Where they hit, he could feel his nerves flare as if his tears were red hot, and yet he still couldn't move. “I'll take that as a yes,” Todd told him, swiping a tear from his chin for emphasis. “You see, dirk, they're right.” Todd watched his hands as he wiped the tear between his fingers, smiling to himself. Dirk said nothing. “You know, todd doesn't like you. He likes the idea of you.” the creature licked the tear off his finger, heaving a sigh. Dirk felt as if he were being strangled, his throat sore and swollen. “He would be better of without you, you know. I would be better off without you. I will we had never met. I wish you wet dead.” the words tumbling from the things lips stung dirk more than any of his most tears, having Todd's eyes looking at him as he said those things… it was horrible. Dirk let out a question sob. Not-todd smiled and approach him. “I wish you were dead. You useless piece of filth. You are nothing. You are scum!” Dirk felt himself shake as his throat closed more, making him feel as if he were dropped. The crest grabbed his face with both hands and do felt his do burning and splitting under his touch. 

 

“Die.”


	2. Stay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dirk needs someone there, and Todd finds himself volenteering

Todd was tired, extremely tired. For whatever reason, his insomnia had sparked up again, so now he lay staring up at the inky blackness of his ceiling. The bed beneath him was warm and the air was cool, but no matter how he struggled and waited and wished for sleep it didn’t come. He just continued to lay still, taking deep breaths as thoughts flashed through his mind in a half-assed groggy way. There were thought about his sister, about farah, about lydia. There were thoughts about dogs and his old band. Suddenly, Todd heard a whimper from the other room. He didn’t think much of it, everyone tends to talk in their dreams once in a while, but slowly the low mumbles and grunts turned to full on screaming and begging that came from the other room, piercing his eardrums and making his head throb. Todd got up from his bed and headed over to Dirk’s room, the floor cold beneath his bare feet. 

 

Todd opened the door slowly and peered in, relieved when he didn't see the shadows of burly men wrestling Dirk out the window to go back to… that place. Instead he found Dirk thrashing in his bed, trying desperately to free himself of the blankets that twisted around his arms and legs. Todd approached and stood at the side of the bed, wary. He slowly reached out and tried to grab Dirk’s arm, but Dirk screamed and began struggling harder. Todd let the arm go, deciding another approach would likely lead to less bruises. He sat on the edge of the bed, careful to avoid Dirk’s flailing limbs. “Dirk, it’s me.” He laid a careful hand on his shoulder, barely touching the skin. Dirk’s movement slowed. “Dirk? It’s Todd, are you okay?” Dirk suddenly opened his eyes, gasping and looking over at Todd. Before Todd could think to react he was being pulled into a clumsy hug. 

 

“Oh thank God.” Dirk was crying into his shoulder, tears dripping onto Todd's shoulder and running down his arm. Todd was shocked for a moment, before he slowly put an arm around Dirk’s waist. Dirk attempted to burrow deeper into Todd's neck, silent sobs racking his body. Todd ran his hand up and down Dirks back, hoping it was calming.

 

“Are you okay?” Todd asked. Dirk snorted lightly. “Right, stupid question… will you be okay?” todd felt dirk smile into his shoulder.

 

“If the universe permits.” Todd smiled at that. 

 

“Do you wanna… talk about it? Or something?”

 

“Later.”

 

“Okay.” todd searched his mind for something he could do. “Tea?

 

“In a minute Todd, can't you see I'm trying to hug you here?” todd rolled his eyes. Even screaming and reduced to tears, dirk was still Dirk. Eventually dirk calmed down and let Todd go slowly, rubbing at his eyes. “cam o have hot chocolate instead?”

 

“Sure.” Todd was by no means the best friend ever but he'd be damned before he did not gov his crying best friend hot chocolate. Todd made his way into the kitchen and turned on the kettle, taking out the cocoa mix and leaning on the counter as he waited for it to boil. The kettle whistled as soon he was met with a very sleepy looking Dirk, who was wrapped in a blanket as he waddled into the kitchen, eyes half lifted and hair ruffled. Todd handed him a mug and Dirk turned to go into the living room, tugging lightly on Todd's sleeve to get him to follow.

 

Dirk settled into the couch, blanket pooling around his body. He set down his mug and held the blanket open on one side like a cloak, becoming Todd to sit. Todd rolled his eyes and do so. Dirk set the blanket around his shoulders, leaving his arm there as he grabbed his mug to take a sip. “Thank you, Todd, for everything.” Dirk murmured into his drink.

 

“You're welcome.” Todd sighed as he let himself slump into Dirk's shoulder. Dirk glanced at him but didn't comment. It seemed surreal, sitting on the couch, sipping hot cocoa as the first rays of sunlight filtered through the window. Todd felt guilty, but he wished that dirk would have nightmares more often.

 

“You were in it, you know. My nightmare.” Dirk said suddenly, catching Todd’s interest.

 

“I was?”

 

“Definitely. I don't remember all of it, but i remember you and a black mass and…” dirk paused, thinking about what he should say. “You were really quite terrifying, to be completely honest. All dark and spooky and mad, really mad.”

 

“Oh… should I apologize?”

 

“I’m not sure… probably not. That is, unless you can control my subconscious.”

 

“Okay, um, do you remember anything else?”

 

“You yelled at me a lot. And i think there was a forest? There were other people too, I think. But I don't remember them.” Dirk looked forlorn, his features twisted from his usual content expression to one of sadness. Todd felt bad for whatever had happened, even if he couldn’t control the Todd that Dirk’s mind had conjured up. He still felt guilty. They stayed silent for a few moment, both thinking about different things than the other. Todd stared out the open window, eyes drawn to the light spilling over the horizon in brilliant shades of gold and pink. Todd felt odd with his head rested on Dirk’s shoulder, but he was oddly content. Over all. Dirk hummed lightly and shifted slightly so that his head was rested on top of Todd's. Todd smirked to himself. They both fined their cocoa before Dirk shifted his shoulder lightly, jostling Todd's head. “Gotta go pee “ Dirk mumbled. Todd sat up completely and let Dirk get up. Todd settled back into the couch and closed his eyes. He felt more relaxed than he had thought possible recently. Most of his time was either spent chasing Dirk down the stream of creation or working at his hectic underpaying job at the nearby grocery. Todd listened to the sound of Dirk padding along the tiled floors and let his mind empty. Suddenly there was a shriek from the bathroom. Todd immediately got to hit feet out of reflex and followed the sound, more worried about Dirk than about whatever could happen to him. Todd approached and found Dirk staring into the mirror, eyes wide and body tense. Todd quickly leaned over and tapped his shoulder. Dirk jumped like he’d been shocked but didn’t turn to look at him, still staring at the mirror.

 

“Jesus, are you okay?” Todd asked, worry clouding his eyes.. Dirk didn’t say anything, he just stared over at the mirror and shook lightly. Todd reached out and grabbed his arm, pulling him away from the mirror to look at him. As Dirk was turned away from the mirror he seemed to snap out of a trance of some sort, glazed eyes blinking and shaking becoming more intense. “Dirk?” Todd shook the man lightly, wondering what could have happened to make him react so drastically. Dirks eyes finally cleared and he grabbed onto Todd’s arms suddenly. 

 

“Todd.” Dirks voice was quiet but in no way calm, his eyes blown wide.

 

“What happened?”

 

“I was j-just looking in the mirror a-and then you were t-there but it was you and it reached out and-”

 

“Shhh, Dirk, it’s okay.” Todd tried to calm him, rubbing his arm lightly and pulled him in for a hug.Dirk stayed silent and wrapped his arms around Todd’s shoulders, leaning his head down to sit in the crook of Todd's neck. They stood there, frozen, the sound around them nonexistent as if they were under water. Dirk slowly stopped shaking as they held onto one another. Finally, the silence broke.

 

“Don’t you have work today?” Dirk asked, his voice cheery and normal as if nothing at all had happened.

 

“I’m gonna call in sick.”

 

“And why is that?”

 

“Because you don’t need to be here alone with that- well, with whatever that was.”

 

“Oh.” Dirk gave todd a soldering glance that looked something like “knowing” but as Dirk had said, he doesn't know anything. 

 

“I think I'm gonna go make breakfast.”

 

“you mean make cereal.”

 

“yeah.”

 

“We should go get coffee.”

 

“Why? We have coffee here.” That was very true. Their kitchen cupboards were stuffed to the gills with various types of tea and coffee. As for keeping other necessities at hand, well, they could use some work.

 

“I don’t know, maybe you should ask the universe, Todd.”

 

“Fine. But you have to pay.”

 

“our money is shared!”

 

“yeah, well, i'm just making myself feel better about spending our meagre funds on something we already have.”

 

“thats fair, i guess. But don't you think we deserve some coffee anyways? We haven't been out of the house for days after all; and when we do leave it's either you working or us on a case. Also! I heard that the new cafe two blacks down -just opened actually- has fantastic muffins.”

 

“okay, im sold. Let's go.” Todd's Voice was flat and tired, but Dirk knew underwear that was exasperated affection.

 

“do you plan on going in your Pjs?” Todd looked down and huffed. 

 

“yeah, no. Lets go change.”


	3. Blue sky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dirk finds himself on a grassy hill bellow a blue sky. How did he get there?

Dirk skipped lightly as he head down the sidewalk, todd only a few paces behind. The sky was bright and warm as they made their way along the road to the cafe. Todd watched as dirk skipped, stumbling every once in awhile. It was as if dirk had never had a nightmare in the first place. Todd knew better though. Dirk was very obviously playing up his optimism to make Todd feel better. Todd for his part appreciated it, but wished Dirk would be more honest with him. Dirks skip slowed until they were walking side by side, and dirk raised his hand to point at something. “the cafe's this way!” dirk was pointing to a rather dark alleyway. 

 

“isn't it right there?” todd asked, pointing to the colourful building a few down. 

 

“awe, c'mon todd!” dirk tugged on his sleeve, and todd couldn't find it with I himself to resist. Dirk held onto Todd's sleeve as he lead him down the alley, a slight spring to his step looking more like a half skip. Todd looked at the walls beside them, all high and brick and imposing. He felt trapped. The only thing that kept him from leaving right then was dirks hand on his sleeve. As todd peered into the darkness. Something gleaming in the shadows caught his eye. He stopped. Dirk stopped with him, his arm having been jerked behind him suddenly.

 

“What’s that?” Todd asked, pointing the shiny thing out to Dirk. 

 

“Not sure, could be anything. A glass bottle, a knife blade, a snow globe… Why don’t we find out?” Dirk pulled on Todd’s sleeve again, but Todd pulled it from his grasp. 

 

“I think we should go back.”

 

“C’mon, Todd! Don’t you want to know what it is?”

 

“Yeah, but I’d rather not get shanked.” The gleam was much farther down the alley, where the shadows turned to complete darkness, anything or anyone could be there. Dirk reached to grab Todd’s sleeve and grabbed his hand instead. Dirk gave him his best puppy dog face and sighed.

 

“Please?” Dirk stared at him expectantly. In the half-light it was almost creepy. 

 

“Fine, but remember, if I die the first thing on my will is to blame you for whatever happened to me.”

 

“Really?”

 

“No, but I should put it on there, since it’ll probably be your fault.” Dirk gasped dramatically, clasping a hand to his chest. 

 

“How dare-”

 

“Let’s go.” Todd urged Dirk, giving him a tiny shove forwards. Dirk huffed but continued walking, Todd’s hand still clasped in his own. As they approached the shadow, something seemed to shift from a light hearted tone to one of a sinister nature. As they slowly crept closer, the shadows seems to shift as if they were alive. The form of a man seemed to be a part of the shadows, broad shoulders and long arms. Todd held his breath as the passed it, not a thought going to the glimmering object in the dark. Suddenly, a loud crack echoed through the air like a gunshot. A gunshot, it was. Todd felt a sharp pain erupt from his neck, making him hiss as his hand fell from Dirk grasp to grab at his neck. It wasn’t a bullet, thank god, but a dart. Someone shifted on the roof above them before leaping down to the ground with a thump. Dirk grabbed onto Todd as he fell, struggling with the weight even as he pulled Todd up off the ground and began running.

 

“Hey!” A gruff voice yelled behind him. Dirk heard the heavy thud of booted footsteps following him, and he began running faster. Todd was heavy and awkward, but there was no way Dirk wa going to leave him with that lunatic. Dirk glanced back and found that the man was gaining on him, though he was obviously not built for speed. Dirk rounded the next corner as quickly as he could, hoping to throw the man off. He almost ran into an elderly lady, but he managed to scrape by her. The man behind him wasn’t as lucky. He ran head first into the women and sent her sprawling. Apparently, the man had a soul, or a grandma, because he stopped to help her up before he took off after Dirk again. Dirk was feeling much better with such a large amount of space between him, but was still worried as the man would definitely catch up with him eventually. He rounded another corner, crossing the street this time, and multiple angry drivers honked at him, but none hit him. Dirk continued to run, and found the man had come up closer than before. Dirk almost tripped over a dog’s leash as he ran by, and not long after he heard a loud shriek. Apparently, along with being sympathetic with old ladies, The man had a fear of dogs. He stood frozen, eyes wide. Dirk took this as an opportunity to get away as fast as possible. He wasn’t sure where he was, so he just continued to run until he was panting and sweating, the sweat on his hands making Todd slip.

 

Dirk looked around him and found that he was in a place full of houses, and no one would let a scared-looking man holding a limp body into their house. Dirk spotted the entrance to a nature park and decided it would have to do. He made his way past the playground and into the treeline, before he found a small clearing. Dirk sat Todd down on the grass gently before collapsing onto the ground beside him. Todd murmured something in his sleep, Dirk smiled. He reached over and grabbed Todd’s hand, picking it up and examining it. Todd’s fingers were rough from the strings of a guitar, but the rest of his hands were soft. Dirk set the hand back down and placed his over it, closing his eyes, his mind drifting.


	4. Watercolor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dim light and acrylic paint.

Dim light reached to dirk from all directions like long fingers, their edges blurred as they seemed to move. Dirk stood in the centre of a circular room. He looked around himself and found the he was surrounded by ten identical doors, each one spewing the same blue light from its entrance. He waited for the decision to be make for him, by he felt no tug of the universe this time. He took a step, heading to the door in front of him. As he stepped through the doorway he’s met with inky black. Where the doors had seemed as if there were light beyond, there was no such thing on the other side. It seemed, if possible, that the room was somehow darker than it was. His black surroundings seemed thicker somehow, like the pure black of watercolor compared to the black of thick acrylic paint. He looked behind him and found that the door was gone. He reached out to his right and felt cool stone beneath his palm.He reached in the opposite direction and found another wall. In front of him was empty, behind him was blocked. He stepped forward. Dirk made his way through long twisted paths, one hand always on the wall beside him. As his eyes stared out into that darkness, he thought he saw it shift every so often. As he walked it became more apparent that it wasn’t his mind fooling him, that darkness was actually moving, writhing and shifting. Then someone emerged. It was Todd. He stood tall and intimidating before him, an evil grin on his lips. Images of his last dream sprung to his mind. “Get away!” He said. Todd didn’t move. Dirk tried to push past him but it was as if he were trying to push past a wall. He needed to keep going. He needed to escape. He became frantic, begging and pleading to that indifferent smile. Dirk reached out and suddenly Todd disappeared and he was falling down, down, down in an endless spiral. Thousands of faces screamed around him in his descent, making his head scream out in pain. 

 

“Die!” a voice screeched louder than the rest. The word echoed around him and he brought his hands to his ears to try to block it out, the sound booming in his ears. Then he was shaking as the sound of someone voice called his name… who was it?


	5. Last Dance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, they get thier coffee.

“Dirk!” Dirk sat up immediately and almost knocked heads with Todd. His mind barely registered where he was before he was grabbing onto Todd, pulling him close as if he were the only life preserver on the titanic. Dirk burried his face in the crook of Todd’s neck, breathing deeply to remind himself that this smell, the way Todd smelled, meant that he was safe. Todd mumbled comforts into Dirk’s ear rubbing slow circles on Dirk's back as he shushed him. Dirk shifted so that they were not sitting properly, which ended up with Todd sideways in his lap. Dirk kept holding on. Kept breathing. Kept wishing he could stay like that forever. Todd wasn’t in any rush to leave either.

 

Dirk soon found that whether or not they wanted to leave, their stomachs disagreed. Giving in to hunger they decided to head home.

 

As they got up, though, Dirk fave shifted from content to forlorn, clearly missing the attention. He stared at Todd and made a small whining sound in the back of his throat, eyes wide and puppy-like. Todd rolled his eyes and grabbed Dirk’s hand, leading him out of the park and onto the street. Dirk, for his part, didn't mind being lead by the hand as long as it was Todd. Speaking of, the shorter man seemed to have something in his hair.

 

“Todd, you have a-” Todd stopped walking and turned to Dirk, one eyebrow raised. Dirk reached behind Todd’s ear and plucked a leaf from where it stuck to his short brown hair. Running his fingertips along the said of his head as he withdrew, he showed the leaf to Todd. “see?” Todd made his ‘fond but confused’ expression and continued walking, glancing back at Dirk.

 

“You still up for coffee?” he asked, gesturing to a nearby cafe. Dirk nodded.

 

“Definitely.” they headed over, still joined by their hands as they entered the shop, the bell ringing as the door swung inwards. Todd dragged Dirk ip to the counter, where an older looking lady wearing a polka-dot shirt and hoop. Earring was standing. 

 

“Hello there darlin’, and how can I help you?” Todd paused. 

 

“Er, can i have a large double double of your dark roast with a caramel shot, two maple bagels,-” just as Dirk was about to cut in to order his drink, todd kept going “-and a large triple hot chocolate with extra whipped cream, and sprinkles, if your have any.” Dirk was almost appalled that Todd had gotten his order so perfect, especially when he could barely remember his own order. Scratch that, he was more flattered and impressed than anything.

 

“That'll be 12.34 dearie.” Todd forked over a twenty and refused the change when the lady offered.she smiled at him and bustle over to make their drinks. They hadn't been standing long when she came back, two large ceramic mugs in hand, along with their bagels. They picked up their things and went to go sit down. “You two are cute together!” the lady called after them. The both blushed, but neither bothered to correct her.

 

With their long awaited coffee in hand, they found a table close to the window and sat down. They both sipped on their drinks with surprising quiet, Dirk not speaking as he stared out the window at the clouds. Todd was looking at Dirk. Studying has face, his mannerisms, his hair. Todd blinked, and sighed.

 

He was just about to drift off when there was a low sigh from beside him. Dirk looked over and found that Todd's eyes were fluttering open. Dirk sat up on one elbow to look down at him, his hand placed gently on the side of Todd's face. Todd's eyes opened and immediately narrowed at him.

 

Suddenly, Dirk turned to him. “Do you believe in heaven?” Todd thought for a moment. His parents had always been religious from the time he was young, now that he was older, well, not so much. Despite what he’d been taught when he was younger… he wasn’t so sure.

 

“Well, that depends.” Todd now stared out at the sky above them, eyes clouded as if he were daydreaming. Dirk however, had his eyes now fixed on Todd. 

 

“On what?”

 

“Your definition of heaven.” Silence falls, the only sound being the slow humm of their mingled breaths and the sound of the quiet cafe. The silence sits between them, not awkward but not exactly comfortable either.

 

“What’s your definition of heaven.” Dirk asked, voice quiet. Todd pauses for a moment.

 

“I don’t know, really. I've never bothered to think about it. What about yours?”

 

“I imagine it would be something like this. You’d be there for sure.” Dirk gestures widely at the cafe, eyes lit up and glowing. Todd turns to him, dragging his eyes away from the light grey clouds in the sky.

 

“We both know I’m not getting into heaven.”

 

“You will if I have anything to say about it. Besides, how can I be a post-mortem detective without my assistant?”

 

“Would there even be mysteries in heaven?”

 

“I sure hope so. Otherwise I’ll just be bored.” Silence falls again, both of them imagining various things related to heaven and mysteries. Todd almost chokes when he imagines Dirk with fluffy white wings and a halo, tripping over a long white robe.

 

“So, I’d really be in your heaven?” 

 

“Well obviously, you're one of my favorite things.” Dirk states, eyes closed.

 

“I am?”

 

“Definitely. Probably my favorite if i think about it.” Todd feels something in his stomach that isn't unpleasant, but more of an internal shiver than anything. Dirk looks over at Todd and finds that his face is peppered with light pink, his face a mix of confusion and contentment.

 

“Oh.” todd doesn't say anything else, he just stares at the ground, bowing his head in an attempt to hide his flushed face. Dirk for his part is mostly curious, as he is with all things. Dirk slowly reaches over and places his hand over Todd’s where it rests on the table. Before, the casual touch seemed natural, but in this moment it felt as if every movement meant something. “Er, we should be getting home.”

 

“Oh, uh, yeah.” Dirk mumbled, pulling his hand away to grasp his half-finished hot chocolate. Todd followed suit, popping the last bit of his muffin into his mouth before getting up, grabbing his coffee on the way. The door opened with a quiet jingle that sounded much too loud in their ears. 

 

“Come again!” the lady called, waving from behind the counter.   
\---

 

Todd stopped outside the door to the cafe, looking lost. It was only a couple blocks from here to the apartment, but he looked as if he were confused about the direction he was supposed to go. Dirk took pity on his and grabbed his hand, leading him along the sidewalk. He looked back at Todd, who looked somewhat redacted and unsure. Dirk slowed his strips to a slow walk, trying to match Todd’s default walk. Their breath billowing out in misty clouds as they walk, the quiet now seeming less awkward and more like a sort of reverence that came with something magical. Dirk grip on Todd's hand loosened as he slowed, their strides matching up until they were walking side by side. Todd was staring down at the ground, his face still flushed. The rhythmic mitch-matched sound of their steps made a beat that sounded like the drums in a song of quiet breaths and awkward glances.

 

As they approached the building, Dirk stopped, tugging on Todd's hand. Todd looked over at him, question written in his eyes. Dirk pulled Todd's hand again, making him stumble towards him. Before Todd could rebuke him Dirk pressed his lips against Todd's, smiling into the kiss as he pulled him close. Todd made an odd high pitched noise, his eyes wide. After a moment, he let out a long breath, placing his hand on Dirk’s shoulder and pulling him closer. Suddenly, the clouds above them wsplit and rain began to fall, speaking them both. After a moment, Dirk pulled away. “Thanks for everything.” he whispered into Todd's shoulder. Todd reached up and pulled Dirk’s face from his shoulder gently to look into his eyes.

 

“Any time.” He responded, pulling him back in.


End file.
